William e



@glatten tang. @anni @fitta wiLLL-in n. inonAnL, or NanT` HOLLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR lro' ninsnLr AND'ABRAM SETLEY, or SAME rLAoE.

, Letters Patent-Ivo. 73,543, dated January 21, 1868.

IMPROVED MEANS FOR S'I'UIIING SEATS.

' lO ALL WHOII I'I' MAY CONOERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. MICH-AEL, of New Holland, in thc county of Lancaster, and State' of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improved Mode of Stuiiing or Producing an Elastic Seat without the use of springs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawinggmaking a part of this specification, in which- Figure I is a perspective of. the under side of a sofa with my appliances in place.

Figure 2I, the stretching-block or mould; I'I, the sofa or seat-box or open frame; III, the united coveringslats; IV shows the top of the seat when stuffed; V, a. cross-section of the block E vor I.

Figure 3 shows a modification, by the use of but one central screw instead of two, as shown in iig. 1, used with a spring, S, and two bearings in a groove, d, of strip D.

The nature of my invention consists in the means employed to produce an elastic seat without the use of spiral springs, now universally eniployed'for. that purpose.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, it is only necessary to say that an `open frame, A, is made in the usual manner, to form the seatrof the desired size. ,I also form a modeliblock, E, of the size .to fit in the top of the frame A, .so as to allow the rounded top, which is` to give shape totheseat, on toprIV, to project above the frame. This I proptemporarily from below, so that I can firmly and smoothly .stretchover and tack ddwn to the sides of the frame the. hair, oil-cloth, leather, or other covering to form the seat. This gives to the covering the desired shape of thc seat. I now remove my mould-block E by ldraw.- ing it out of the open frame by turning the boxuip. `I then fill the frame with hair or any elastifand soft material. I have at hand-aseries of slats,`E, parallel to each other, with intervening spaces. 'These are tacked upon cross-piecesD, so that, unitetily, they iit closely into the box. To prevent the hair or stuiiingv'frouifalling out through the spaces between the slats, afstripof cloth or muslin is tacked or fastened on the inside of the strips the' full size, These united slats'E D (III) are now laid upon the stuffing, which is simply levelled up and pressed'in;l I have at hand the outer cross-stripswith a screw-thrcadon each side or centrally, where one screw-answers the purpose. l'hese `cross-strips B are aixed on the edge of the box, or let into the wood, directly over thecrossstrips-Dwhich unite the slats. I now introduce the screws C, and by their means press the slats up, so that the filling or s'tuling ills up the shaped covering, as formed by the mould-block, of any desired elevation -or shape. I find that the united slats and covered box operate somewhat like a bellows; the' elastic I naterial being permeable to the air, expels and draws in the air, apparently, forming au air-spring cushion. In short, I avoid the vexatious labor of fixing the spiral springs on webbing, and tedious labor of stuiing out to shape the seat, and then produce an elastic seat through which springs are not felt, in repose; and besides, I can readily tighten np the seat, or add fresh material, and otherwise improve the seat, which is applicable fory any kind of, chair, lounge, sofa, or the like, by providing a mould-block'for. each special kind These mould-blocks, when of large size, need not be made out of solid timber; cross-arches and strips will answer, whcninadc the desired shape for stretching over.

v What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

`The combination, with the slats E, of cross-strips Dand B, screws C, and rounded cover, when' constructed and applied substantially in the uianner shown, for the purpose specified.

WILLIAM E. MICHAEL.

Witnesses ISAAC THoLL, JACOB H, TowNsLEY, 

